


Diamond in the Ruff

by captainflintsjacket



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Suspense, Swearing, puppies!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 22:50:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20443874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainflintsjacket/pseuds/captainflintsjacket
Summary: You and Jim are exploring a new planet when something jumps out at you in the woods.





	Diamond in the Ruff

Finding new signs of intelligent life. Exploring the outer reaches of deep space. This was exactly the kind of thing that got your heart racing. It made up for the last dozen away missions where all you found was soil and poisonous plants.

“Maybe we’ll find a poisonous animal this time,” you rambled to anyone who would listen on the shuttle to the planet’s surface.

Jim scoffed. “You’re probably the only person who’s excited about that.”

“Poisonous, not poisonous. I don’t really care as long as it’s not another new species of subterranean fungi. The botanists always have a field day and the zoology team gets nothing! Ever! And don’t you dare even bring up the Phylosians,” you glared at Jim. “You and I both know the botanists robbed us of that find. Sure they’re plant-based life forms but they were sentient. Sentient!”

“Officially the Phylosians were classified as an alien race,” Spock interjected, “not a species of plant, therefore the botanists we’re not qualified to classify them either.” Spock turned his attention back to the PADD in his hand and you stuck your tongue out at him, making Jim snicker.

“Stupid planet made of stupid rocks and stupid dirt,” you muttered. You kicked the ground, knocking up a small cloud of dust which you promptly inhaled. You swung blindly in front of you trying to disperse it while you coughed your lungs out, eyes burning from the dust and cheeks burning from embarrassment at Jim’s laughter. You flipped him off, but the sight of you covered in dust, tears on your cheeks, muffling a cough had Jim doubled over laughing even harder. “I hate this.”

“Captain,” an Ensign yelled as he ran towards you and Jim. “Captain there’s something! Something in the woods! Over there in the…woods.” The ensign collapsed on the ground in front of you.

Jim called for help and dropped to his knees to check for a pulse. You stared at him, jaw dropped and smiling as if someone had just dropped a beautiful alien baby in front of you. Jim caught the look in your eye and pointed his finger at you like he was your father. “Don’t you dare.”

“Wasn’t he with another ensign, though? We should really find them and make sure they’re okay,” you said, inching your way closer to the woods despite Jim’s protests. “It would be cruel to leave them out there without help. I mean it could be a wild animal. A dangerous wild animal.” You had to suppress a fit of giggles, trying not to sound too desperate for a new discovery.

“Which is exactly why I don’t want you- Hey! Wait,” Jim called, looking back up from the ensign to find you sprinting full speed into the woods. Jim wrestled with himself, not wanting to leave an ensign unconscious and unattended but knowing you had an even greater affinity for trouble than he did. “Damn it. Don’t go anywhere,” he said to the unconscious ensign before running after you.

“This really isn’t how I wanted to spend my afternoon,” Jim called out into the empty woods. He cursed under his breath again when there wasn’t an answer. “I am not doing the paperwork if you get eaten.”

Jim prepped himself for another shout when something slammed into him from the side, pinning him to a tree back-first. A hand clamped over his mouth and Jim prepared himself for the worst until his eyes finally focused on your profile. He began to protest, albeit muffled, against the palm of your hand but you shushed him.

“They’re close.” You saw the question in Jim’s eyes but the woods answered for you as a chorus of howls surrounded you.

Jim shoved your hand away and whispered “Please tell me that’s a pack of known animals. Known vegetarian animals.”

“Maybe. Could also be wild sehlats.”

“Sehlats?” Jim coughed, trying to cover up the rising octave in his voice. “Like the one Spock used to have?”

“Oh no, no. Wild ones are much bigger and much more aggressive.” Jim tensed against you, and you could’ve sworn he stopped breathing for a second. “Of course I’m probably wrong! I mean I was top of my class so it’s unlikely, but there haven’t been any recorded sightings of sehlats outside of Vulcan before - maybe because anyone who spotted them got eaten - but probably not! It could just be one animal. One small, harmless animal.” A chorus of howls erupted again.

“Does that really sound like one animal to you Lieutenant “Top of the Class Zoologist”,” Jim hissed.

“It could just be throwing its howl. Coyotes have been known to do that to fend off other predators.”

“Oh yeah because coyotes are completely safe.”

“They are as long as you don’t threaten them.”

“We’re in the middle of the woods! We have guns.”

“A coyote doesn’t know what a gun is.”

“No, but they can smell fear.”

“So don’t be scared.”

“Oh great,” Jim said, throwing his hands up. “Thank you so hadn’t thought of that. You’re absolutely right there’s nothing to be scared of lost in the middle of the woods with one ensign already missing and a pack of foreign and possibly carnivorous animals on the loose hunting us.” Jim winced at the loudness in his voice. “They probably didn’t hear that, right?”

A rustling from the bushes behind you shut you up before you could answer. Jim pushed you in front of him, reaching for his gun. You immediately crouched, opening your arms and extended your hands. “What are you doing?” Jim whispered sharply at you.

“They’re less scared if you get on the same level. They won’t view you as an alpha so you won’t be a threat.”

“No they see you as a tasty snack!”

“That is completely -” Another chorus of howls, closer this time. A rustling in the bushes. A low growl that sent a jolt of ice through your body and stood the hairs on your neck on end. Jim stepped closer to you, whether to comfort you or himself you didn’t know. Probably would never know. Probably would die in the woods on an alien planet slowly eaten by vicious animals and never knowing if Jim was trying to comfort you in his last moments. Never knowing what it would be like to get married and have kids and a dog and that apple pie, picket fence kinda life you’d always dreamed of.

Gradually, the creature emerged. Snout first. Teeth bared. You quickly ran through a list of mammalian physiology. It was clearly canine like, though the fur seemed rigid and you’d never seen an animal with a lavender cut before. As the rest of the creature emerged, only one thought crossed your mind: “Holy shit.”

You immediately dropped to your knees, smile plastered on your face as if your parents had just surprised you with a puppy on Christmas day. “Holy shit, Jim. I think this is a new species of Vulptex. I’ve only read about them in stories, but they were said to have crystalline fur.”

The Vulptex crept forward cautiously. You extended your fingers farther, bowing your head. Jim whispered your name in warning but you ignored him as the creature finally brushed its wet nose against your fingertips. Your fingers ran through its coat, expecting harsh edges. Instead you were greeted by fur softer than you could have imagined. Your fingers slid through it as if it was water. The Vulptex seemed to be enjoying the encounter too, because it leaned into your hand before letting out a sharp bark.

A few other heads emerged from the bushes. Seeing their friend in your arms and unharmed, they quickly ran at you. Their growls changed to excited barks as they licked every patch of skin they could find on you. Surprisingly, their tongues were course, much like a cat’s. Their eyes were an almost hypnotic shade of dark blue, not that you had much time to look into them with the pups jumping into your face. You laughed as one managed to get a tongue inside your nose. Jim laughed with you, finally putting his gun away and letting his guard down.

As soon as he knelt, the Vulptexes were all over him too, sniffing his hair, licking his cheeks, covering his uniform in muddy paw prints. You laughed again. “I finally discover a new species and they’re puppies.” You cupped one of the Vulptex’s faces and blew a raspberry against its nose. The creatures all snapped to attention, looking around bewildered. You laughed again and a few of the more skittish ones ran back into the bushes.

“There you are,” a voice said from the bushes. Several excited barks followed.

“Ensign Ramero,” Jim called. “Is that you?”

The ensign emerged cuddling one of the smallest pups in her arms. “Yeah, sorry. I didn’t mean to abandon the other ensign. I just saw one of these guys tangled in some thorns and I couldn’t leave ‘im there. Vasiliev was scared, sayin’ they were poisonous or some shit, pardon my French, and, well, like I said I couldn’t just leave the lil guy.” Ramero ruffled the fur on the Vulptex’s head and it nuzzled closer to her.

“See,” Jim muttered. “I’m not the only one who thought they were dangerous.”

“Yeah, about as dangerous as a tribble.”

“Tribbles are a banned from transportation on Starfleet vessels because of their danger and you know that.”

“Oh, come on. They’re just like cats, only a little more invasive.”

“A little? Don’t you remember that time you snuck a Tribble that happened to be pregnant on board? Scotty was finding Tribbles in every duct on the Enterprise!”

“That was one time.”

“One time with the Tribbles. Then there was also that Regulan bloodworm-”

“Which proved to have incredible medicinal use.”

“Oh yeah and the Ceti eel that almost ate Chekov’s brain? Did that have medicinal use too?”

“No,” you sighed. “But it was super cool. And these are just like dogs! I could probably train one to fetch you your slippers or your PADD. Except it’d probably miss it’s pack. Unless we can bring them all.”

“No.” Jim said without hesitation. You pouted, but only for a few seconds before a Vulptex jumped into your face again to lick you. You smiled and rubbed behind its ears, making it wiggle its back leg.

“But they’re so cute,” you whined.

Jim hunkered down, lying back against the forest floor. The Vulptexes took their chance and swarmed him, jumping and sniffing and licking all over him. One of the pups had curled up between the two of you and was already dozing off. Jim sighed deeply. “Yeah, they are.”

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr @trade-baby-blues. Also, I did shamelessly steal the Vulptexes from Star Wars. Sue me Disney.


End file.
